Claire let out an exasperated sigh as she steered her car onto the dusty, worn road through the forest. Of all the people that Simon Masrani had asked her to fetch, it had to be him. Mr. I'm-so-damn-charming-that-no-one-can-resist-me. Owen Grady. And despite her annoyance, Claire felt her heart flutter nervously when she grumbled his name.
She sighed and shook her head, unconsciously gripping the steering wheel tighter. Pull yourself together, Claire. Why are you so nervous? It's just Owen, the caveman recluse who lives in a trailer, the guy with whom you had that horrible date where you completely embarrassed yourself. Oh, God.
As the trees gradually thinned out, Claire was able to see a large clearing beside the lake. She grimaced when her eyes fell upon a rusty bungalow with dirty windows and a makeshift porch. Why does he still choose to live here when he's been offered his own apartment multiple times?
Claire stopped the car under a tree and turned the engine off. She took a deep breath, smoothing back her hair and straightening out her blouse. She was usually a collected person, someone who knew exactly what to say and what to do. The park needed someone like that as Senior Assets Manager. But there was something about this man that made all her calm unravel like a spool of string rolling off the table. All you're going to do is get him to check the paddock and then you don't have to see him again. She sighed.
Claire opened the door and stepped delicately onto the overgrown grass. She didn't see Owen outside his "house" doing his usual caveman activities- fixing his stupid motorcycle or hammering on his stupid porch, so she assumed that he was inside. Carefully, she picked her way up the creaky porch, her high heels wobbling.
She knocked on the door after a moment of hesitation and tucked a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Silence. She knocked again, this time harder and more insistent. He really should install a door bell! Claire sighed and turned around to face the lake. The last thing she needed was to be late because of this man.
Suddenly, the door swung open. Claire jumped and spun around sharply. She willed the immediate spread of redness around her cheeks to fade as she stood taller in an attempt to mask her surprise. She drew in a sharp intake of breath.
"Mr. Grady, I need you to come with me to take a look at something," she said coldly, looking Owen in the eye. Owen stared back and stepped closer.
"Is this how you normally greet people?" he asked slowly with raised eyebrows.
Claire sighed and rolled her eyes. "Good morning, Mr. Grady. Anyway, we-" she began. Owen cut her off.
"Why are you calling me Mr. Grady?"
"Fine. Good morning, Owen. And as I was saying before you so rudely interrupted me-"
"It's afternoon," Owen blurted. Claire sucked in a cold breath, glancing at the sky for a moment. Damn it. She reddened and clenched her jaw, the tension building up inside and threatening to explode.
"We need you for something," Claire snapped. Screw greetings. God, couldn't he shut up for once?
Owen shrugged and replied, "Well, I'm pretty busy at the moment." He closed the door behind him and sauntered down the porch toward his toolbox with another hidden smirk.
Claire shook her head. "Whatever you're doing now can wait. This is more important." She made her way carefully down the creaky porch in her three and a half inch pumps.
When Owen didn't answer and simply began to sort through his multiple tools, Claire sighed and approached him. "Owen, as head velociraptor trainer, you are a member of the staff and your presence is requested and required by Mr. Masrani."
Owen rolled his eyes at her fancy word choices and turned around. He had never been so peeved at her before. "What exactly am I needed for?"
"We need you to evaluate the paddock of our newest asset for any possible vulnerabilities or deficiencies before we open it to the public," Claire explained, sounding as if she were reciting memorized lines. She tucked a loose strand of auburn hair behind her ear.
Owen paused for a second, processing what she said. Why does she have to use such complicated words? He took a seat beside his motorcycle and bent down to check the tires. Claire could clearly see his confusion and leaned toward him.
"Forgive me. I must have forgotten that you are somehow physically incapable of understanding words with three or more syllables." Owen rolled his eyes as Claire spoke slowly and in a taunting voice. "We need you to look at a dino's home and find stuff to fix. Can you understand that, or should I continue to extemporize this speech in order to get something through your rock-hard head?" Claire flashed him a sarcastically sweet smile.
Taking every opportunity he was given to drive Claire insane, Owen pretended to think hard. "I still don't understand what you want from me." He grinned when she took a deep breath.
"We need to you..." Claire began, unsure of how else to rephrase her sentence, squeezing her eyes shut in exasperation for a few moments. Is it even possible to simplify this sentence any more?
"You know what? No. I am not a preschool teacher," she snapped. Owen stood from his stool in amusement.
"Well, don't look at me. You were the one who offered to... exemplorate your speaking or whatever." Owen replied. He scratched his head, unsure of which long word Claire had used. Claire's eyes snapped open at his mispronunciation and, much to Owen's surprise, a smug smile crept onto her face and warmed her features.
"Nice try, but it's extemporize. Exemplorate's not even a real word, Owen," she remarked dryly. Owen snorted.
"How was I supposed to know that?"
"The word you were looking for was 'exemplify.' But it doesn't even make sense in that sentence. What have people been teaching you these days?" Claire continued. She was unaware of the grin on her face as she spoke.
Owen shrugged. "Uh, you know, how to not get eaten while socializing with intelligent, carnivorous dinosaurs? See, I even used some of those fancy words that you're so fond of!" Claire crossed her arms, unimpressed.
"Sure you did."
"You'd make a pretty good grammar teacher, you know." She'd make one very attractive grammar teacher, too. Owen's thoughts slithered loose before he could cage them. He noticed a faint pinkness around Claire's unblemished cheeks and realized that he had just made her blush, but this time in a different way than he had been doing previously.
Claire stood taller and tossed her hair back dramatically. "Alright, Mr. Grady. Stop with the flattery or I'm giving you detention." Owen feigned shock.
"I could've sworn that last time I checked, preschoolers didn't get detention, assuming that this is preschool."
"Fine. Your grammar abilities match a preschooler's anyway. I guess I'll just send you to the time out chair," Claire retorted playfully. She was unconsciously fiddling with her Rolex watch as she spoke.
"The time out chair?" Owen joked, mimicking a young boy and making his voice high and squeaky. "I don't wanna go there!" Claire tried to ignore his teasing, though her heart rate sped up when she heard his "little boy" tone.
"Shut up. We're going to play a little game called 'Search and Find.' There are three steps-get in the car, look at the dino's home, and find everything wrong with it. You love pointing out what other people do wrong, don't you, Mr. Grady?" Claire said, finishing with a coy smile. Owen smirked and shifted closer to her.
"'Course I do, Ms. Dearing," Owen answered in his "little boy" voice. "But I still don't understand something about the game." Claire raised and eyebrow. What was there not to understand? A real preschooler would be able to understand the instructions, right?
"After we get in the car...?" Owen asked mischievously. He grinned madly at her throughly exasperated expression. Claire let out a huff.
"Dumbass," she muttered under her breath loud enough so Owen would hear. He laughed, surprised to hear that word from Claire's professional lips.
"Teachers shouldn't cuss, Ms. Dearing. Unless you want me to send you to the time out chair, that is. Hm, is that what you want?" Owen mock-reprimanded her. He saw her blush yet again and couldn't resist being a little flirtatious with his last sentence. If asked later, she would deny that his flirtatious tone made her heart skip a beat.
"Owen, get in the car. We can't afford to be late for Mr. Masrani," Claire sighed, acting as if she wasn't affected. But Owen noticed the smile tugging at her lips, the way she played with her watch, and the almost bashful shine of her emerald eyes. He held his hands up in surrender.
"Fine, fine," he conceded. He half made his way to the car before pausing, much to Claire's annoyance. "But I have to use the restroom first." He jogged back to the porch. Claire groaned as she headed for her car.
"You are unbelievable sometimes. Hurry, please" she chided, checking her watch.
"It's not my fault that you talk too much. If there's anything that would make us late, it would probably be that." Owen called back to her. She decided not to dignify that with a response and instead opened the car door.
"Ms. Dearing?"
Claire looked up. He was using his irritating "school boy" voice. "What is it now?" she asked impatiently. He grinned.
"Can you come with me to the potty room?"
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